INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, December 1 — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC). The Agreement was reached as a result of the BLET’s participation in the Coordinated Bargaining Group, with five other Unions.

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of the voting BLET members voted in favor of the five-year agreement, which covers rates of pay, health & welfare and other fringe benefits for approximately 25,000 BLET members nationwide. There are no work rule changes in the new contract. It includes general wage increases of 13.14 percent over the life of the agreement and full retroactive payment for general wage increases for 2016 and 2017.

The BLET’s National Wage Committee, led by National President Dennis R. Pierce, began negotiations for this new contract in January of 2015, shortly after the BLET filed its Section 6 notice with the NCCC in November of 2014.

“I want to thank the members who took the time to cast their vote. The BLET is a membership-driven union; in fact, rank and file ratification of our contracts is one of the democratic cornerstones of the Union movement,” National President Pierce said. “It is clear to me that our members took the time to study the issues before making a very careful choice. BLET members show their strength every time they get involved, and I again thank all members who took the time to participate in their own future. I must also thank the other Unions who bargained with the Coordinated Bargaining Group. BLET members benefited from the solidarity shown by the CBG, and my hope is that these Unions will continue to work together going forward.”